Lounging Room, Mechanics Institute, Rumford, 1911

The lounging room in the Mechanics Institute was intended for relaxation and social time for the working men of Rumford. Oxford Paper Company owner Hugh Chisholm created the Mechanics Institute to ensure that there was a place for recreation and education for the people of the community.

The photograph was published in a "Mechanics Institute, Rumford, Maine" booklet handed out at the building's ribbon cutting on November 9, 1911. It was published by University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.